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Updated: Jul 2, 2026

Controlling the Size, Shape and Stability of Supramolecular Polymers in Water
Published on: August 2, 2012
Thermodynamic behaviors of polyampholytes at low temperatures
Beisi Xu1, Lei Huang, Haojun Liang
1Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230026, People's Republic of China.
Abstract:
The thermodynamic properties of 6-mer polyampholyte chains were simulated with the multicanonical Monte Carlo method in a three-dimensional off-lattice model. The results demonstrate that the number of the charged monomers on the chain and the sequence significantly affect the transition behaviors of polyampholyte chains. In the case of the random distribution of the charged monomers, two oppositely charged monomers act as two stickers during a collapse process, due to which the movement of monomers is suppressed and the chains can more directly reach their solid state. Interestingly, in a proper arrangement of the charged monomers, the chains may have a proteinlike nondegenerate state, i.e., the chain is designable. The transition of such polyampholyte chains appears to be of a two-state, all-or-none type.
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